Monday, January 27, 2020

Advantages of Learning English

Advantages of Learning English In present, English has become an international language and the most spoken language in the world, with Chinese and French coming in a close second and third, which is use by dominant people in the world and use to make a bridge between people from other country who want to communicate each others. Moreover, english is already accepted as a foreign language. There are over 750 million people who speak English as a foreign language. In the year 2000 the British Council said that there were about a billion people learning English. Kolik jazykÃ…Â ¯ znà ¡Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¡, tolikrà ¡t jsi Ä lovĆºkem. You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once. (Czech proverb) That proverb tell that mastered in other language is very important, especially when someone mastered speak in the most spoken language which is English. Learning English is very important, because it will gives many advantages that will be very important in this life and here are 3 important advantages, which are for education, for information and the last is for facing the globalization. The first thing is about to get the best education. The fact is learning English can make education better. To get the best education it is very impossible if someone just study from his/her country. It will be better to study from the others country, such as to get a scholarship. In order to that, it a must to mastered English because to study abroad it will need a TOEFL test and many kinds of that. Education is not just about study, but also about work because work can educate people too. This day most of the computer language and international business is use English and to become the best, people have to become an international person,so he/ she can communicate with any people using English as the most spoken language. Also the knowledge of English language may give people chance to find better job, promotion to the better position, or to go for foreign business trips. So, to get better education hwich are study and work, we must mastered the most spoken language which is English first because it is a bridge between better education and the best education. The second one of the advantage of learning English is about information that it will gives to people around the world. This day technology is in advance, it proves by the existence of the internet which become the most functionable source that people used. Many information exist in the internet if people want to search it, becaus it is connected all over the world, so people can exchange the information between Afghanistan and Canada, but most of it using English. By using English, people will be able to discover all of the information from all over the world with internet. Because English is the language of the internet, people has to know and has to able to understand English if he/she want to get accurate and up-to-date information from the internet. By internet too, people can communicate with foreign people by sending an e-mail, but of course people must use English to make foreign people understand too. And over 80% of the information stored in the worlds computers is in English, more than half the worlds scientific journals are in English, its the main language on the internet, and so on. Because English is the most spoken language and an international language, for people who understand English could get the information of news or opportunities to get job faster thatn the others could. The last advantages of learning English is to face the globalization Era when now happened. The globalization is something that is well-known in this era because its already happened this day. One of the example of globalization is when Malaysia can pick someone from Indonesia to work in Malaysia company directly, it can happen now. So, it can said that globalization era is the same with International era. To face this international era the first thing that we can do is to master English because communication is the most important thing when we make a relation between people. Master English is because English is the most spoken language that used in every country. So, to keep in track in this globalization era, people can understand English well is a must. When people cannot understand English, they cannot communicate with foreign people and when they cannot communicate with foreign people, they cannot get a good relation and they cannot face the globalization era. So, English is the one that people must have understand in order to face the globalization era. In addition, English as the most spoken language has many advantages for people and the most important advantages are for information, education, and for facing that globalization era.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Outcomes Based Education Essay

Introduction Galileo Galilee once said a man cannot teach a man anything but rather he can only help him find in within himself. This means that you can only go so far to help someone learn and make the right condition for the learner to discover what already known to be true. The principle of outcome based education relates to this passage from Galilee where Outcome-Based Education means clearly focusing and organizing everything in an educational system around what is essential for all students to be able to do successfully at the end of their learning experiences. This means starting with a clear picture of what is important for students to be able to do, then organizing the curriculum, instruction, and assessment to make sure this learning ultimately happens† (Spady, 1994:1). In this approach learners may identify what are the things which are important and what is essential for them. It is indeed true that learning may not be significant with someone unless it may reflect the importanc e of learning in real life and utilize it in different life roles. OBE has been around for centuries. The origins of modern outcomes-based education can be traced back to the work of Italian educator Maria Montessori, whose teaching theories shaped the development of Montessori schools the world over. Working in the early 1900s, Montessori believed that instead of setting up arbitrary grading systems, tests, and the like and teaching inputs based on them, education was best measured by encouraging individual student achievement, which can occur at different rates for different students. This method would allow students of different skill levels and abilities to learn at their own individual rates (or outcomes), rather than lumping all students together and measuring them at the same standard at the same point in time. In the local setting, government educational bureau, school administrators and educational gurus are continuously seeking ways and means to upgrade the standards and quality of education in terms of its delivery system and other related components of quality education. The continuous growth of population, government budgetary allocation for education, and educational political will have been a great factor in the affects the quality of education one can experience. Other than that, some other problems occurred such as: lack of qualified teachers, inadequate classrooms and ineffective programs. These are more evident to public schools here in the country. Recognizant of this reality, the Commission on Higher Education in pursuit of an ongoing paradigm shift to learning competency based standards mandated all Higher Education Institution to incorporate a Quality Policy utilizing an Outcomes Based Education. This policy-standard, which applies to private and public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the country, is issued to enhance the quality assurance system of Philippine higher education through learning competency based standards and an outcomes-based system of quality assurance that is differentiated by type of HEI. CHED’s rationale in implementing this policy is very specific as they believe that this mandate will contribute to building a quality nation capable of transcending the social, political, economic, cultural and ethical issues that constrain the country’s human development, productivity and global competitiveness. The commissions focused in mandating all HEI’s underscores a quality assurance that is rooted in research which suggest that there has been a lack of a critical pool of graduates with the necessary thinking, technical and behavioral competencies are among the factors constraining the re-launching of the Philippine manufacturing sector and the achievement of the full potentials of the service sector. Another important ideas of this policy is that change is dynamic the Philippine educational system should adopt with the ever changing climate of systems that Philippine s has been left behind. The reality is that in 2015 where ASEAN community will facilitate the free flow of qualified labor in the region and either open up opportunities for graduates of Philippine HEIs or threaten their employment even in this country. The Philippine educational system should move on this suggest that Philippine should keep on track or be left behind. (CMO No. 2 S. of 2011) This mandate from CHED aims to contribute to building a quality nation capable of transcending the social, political, economic, cultural and ethical issues that constrain the country’s human development, productivity and global competitiveness. The fulfillment of this action entails all HEI to offer quality programs that will meet the national and the international standards of programs for the different professions/disciplines. Quality assurance is viewed as an important ingredient in the social development of the population especially the Filipinos out of the poverty condition. CHED defines quality as the alignment and consistency of the learning environment with the institution’s vision, mission, and goals demonstrated by exceptional learning and service outcomes and the development of a culture of quality. This definition highlights three perspectives of quality. One the quality as fitness for purpose, which is generally used by international bodies for assessment and accreditation, requires the translation of the institution’s vision, mission, and goals into its learning outcomes, programs, and systems. Second quality as exceptional means either being distinctive; exceeding very high standards; or conformance to standards based on a system of comparability using criteria and ratings. And lastly quality underlies CHED’s definition of exceptional; and Quality as â€Å"developing a culture of quality† is the transformational dimension of the CHED notion of quality. Quality assurance utilizing the OBE has been widely argued by educational administrators, though this would impact the educational system of the country where Philippines has been left behind years back by our neighboring ASIAN nations. This paper aims to assess how well the HEI’s administrators’ in Olongapo adapted to the provision of the OBE and the practices of the educators with regards to OBE or are thy well equipped with the knowledge and skills relating to OBE. This issue is very timely and is pressing the education administrators. It is imminent that this policy is another challenge facing the educational sectors to adopt and practice the quality assurance utilizing the OBE principle. There are several questions that determine the direction of this study. What are the best practices of the HEI’s administrators with regards to OBE as well as theory instructors? How well they adopt and practice quality policy as set forth by the CHED? And their reasons in adopting or implanting this quality policy? An explication of OBE will be dealt with this forgoing study this will also illuminate the performance of the HEIs in Olongapo. Review of Related Literature This paper aims to explore the principles of OBE as practiced among the HEI’s in Olongapo. This is intended to explain the principles and how this principle is incorporated in their system. In addition this paper will definitely help teachers and administrators understand the process and practices on OBE among other HEIs in Olongapo which will certainly facilitate other institution to espouse the practices of their counterpart. The Philippine educational system as observed by the researcher has been through a lot of curricular development. Policies and standards have been laid; OBE is one of the recent development to which it has been advocated by some and critics by many. Where will this process lead the curriculum? Outcomes based education is a process that involves the restructuring of curriculum, assessment and reporting practices in education to reflect the achievement of high order learning and mastery rather than the accumulation of course credits (Tucker, 2004). According to Tucker the primary aim of OBE is to facilitate desired changes within the learners, by increasing knowledge, developing skills and/or positively influencing attitudes, values and judgment. OBE embodies the idea that the best way to learn is to first determine what needs to be achieved. Once the end goal (product or outcome) has been determined the strategies, processes, techniques, and other ways and means can be put into place to achieve the goal. The major problem in all curricular frameworks is the outcome or product measurement. Geyser (1999) stated that OBE deals with the product Outcomes are clear learning results that learners have to demonstrate at the end of significant learning experiences: what learners can actually do with what they know and have learned. Outcomes are actions/ performances that embody and reflect learner competence in using content, information, ideas and tools successfully. He further proposed that when learners do important things with what they know they have taken a significant step beyond knowing itself. Vela, Berardinelli & Burrow (1998) reminds us of the importance of accountability mechanisms (learner assessment) that directly reflect student performance and help learners â€Å"know what they know†. Thus outcomes describe the results of learning over a period of time – the results of what is learned versus what is taught. Spady and Marshall (1994:20) an advocate of OBE has explained the meaning and concept of outcomes as: Outcomes are ‘clear, observable demonstrations of student learning that occur after a significant set of learning experiences. They are not values, attitudes, feelings, beliefs, activities, assignments, goals, scores or averages, as many people believe. Typically these demonstrations reflect three things: †¢ What the student knows †¢ What the student can actually do with what he or she knows †¢ The student’s confidence and motivation in carrying out the demonstration. They further state that outcomes are what learners can actually do with what they know and have learnt. In other words they are the tangible application of what has been learnt. That assists the learners to know themselves. OBE compels educators to use action verbs like describe, explain, design or produce. These action verbs are preferred more than the vague and non-demonstration processes like know, understand, believe or think. It should be noted that since outcomes occur at the end of a learning experience, they represent the ultimate result of the didactic situation. In general, OBE standards are clearly defined and are known by all learners. This system allows the learners to reach and receive full credit for achieving any performance standard. OBE focuses on increasing students’ learning and ultimate performance abilities to the highest possible level before leaving school. That means that OBE takes an overview of the students’ learning and achievement. In this situation mistakes are treated as inevitable steps towards development and demonstration of high-level performance capabilities. The traditional system takes the opposite approach where testing and permanently grading of learners is very important and emphasizes on rewards learners for assigned work covered in class. Those who are fast and consistent performers get the best grades and records and those who are slower never get the opportunity to catch up because previous mistakes cannot be erased. Outcome-based methods have been adopted in significant ways in the United States, Australia, South, and Hong Kong to mention a few. Each education agency specifies its own outcomes and its own methods of measuring student achievement according to those outcomes (Goals setting strategies). Though it is claimed the focus is not on â€Å"inputs†, OBE generally is used to justify increased funding requirements, increased graduation and testing requirements, and additional preparation, homework, and continuing education time spent by students, parents and teachers in supporting learning as well as the unit cost of training a student. (European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 13, Number 2 2010) In the Philippine education system, the quality and quality assurance in education has been the major theme from the past decade not only in the Philippines but from the rest of the world. Valisno (2000) in her presentation at the International Conference on the Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Standards, Mechanisms and Mutual Reorganization. She recognized that more and more people are concerned about the products or outputs of universities and colleges, whether societies are getting the real value for their investments in higher education. Harman(1996) points to the following main concerns on the quality issues that presently dominate the debates on higher education: 1) maintenance and improvement of levels of teaching, learning, research and scholarship; 2) improvement in the quality and adaptability of graduates; 3) how to define and measure quality; 4) whether management approaches of and colleges improve outcomes; 5) the use of benchmarking and performance indicators; and 6)how to convince stakeholders that institutions and systems are doing a competent job in ensuring quality outputs. Valisno further explained that universities and government agencies just used different terms such as academic standards, standards of degrees and diplomas, student assessment, and accountability. But the main issue also was largely about maintaining academic standards according to some national or international norm, the maintenance and improvement of levels of’ teaching and learning, and how to provide sufficient financial and other resources to achieve quality higher education, As can be observed, many of’ these issues are still significant today, but the new quality debate is centered largely on the achievement of quality outcomes; which necessitates the establishment of appropriate internal quality auditing and quality management processes not only to continuously monitor achievement, and to ensure rising achievement developing but also to determine and implement the quality policy and such as the management of’ quality control and improvement. The lesson of the past as understood by the researcher could be the driving force of the educational managers of this country to adopt the process of OBE as an educational process which is based on trying to achieve certain specified outcomes in terms of individual student learning. Malan (2000) affirmed that the shift toward OBE is similar to the total quality movement as it reflects the best way for individuals and organizations to get where they are going is first to determine where they want to be then plan backward to determine the best way to get from here to there. Proponents of OBE assume there are many ways to arrive at the same results. OBE is currently favored internationally in countries such as Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and United States. Qualitative Approach This paper utilized the phenomological approach in research. This will illuminate the issue of outcomes based education concerning the best practices of the HEIs in Olongapo where the particular actors of the present phenomenon are the HEI administrators’ and the instructors. They will be the locus of the study. Personal perspective and personal interpretation of the subjects will be given importance in illuminating the purpose of this study. This approach is very effective in bringing to frontage the experience and perception of individuals their own perspective of OBE and will therefore be used as a basis to inform, be inform and to give support to the surfacing issue on OBE. The strength of qualitative research is its ability to provide complex textual descriptions of how people experience a given research issue. It provides information about the human side of an issue – that is, the often contradictory behaviors, beliefs, opinions, emotions, and relationships of individuals (Qualitative Research Methods p.1-2). Qualitative methods are also effective in identifying intangible factors specifically in the light of OBE utilization in some HEI in Olongapo. The data collected in a qualitative study includes more than words; attitudes, feelings, vocal and facial expressions, and other behaviors are also involved. The data which may consist of interview transcripts, field notes from observations, a wide variety of records and historical documents, and memoranda, are treated to rigorous ongoing analysis. Three processes are blended throughout the study: collection, coding, and analysis of data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967): This approach encourages the kind of flexibility so important to the qualitative researcher who can change a line of inquiry and move in new directions, as more information and a better understanding of what are relevant data are acquired (Blumer, 1999) All the higher educational institution in Olongapo will be covered by this study namely; CELTECH College, Columban College, Mondrian Aura College, Gordon College and the Lyceum of Subic Bay. The school administrator represented by their president or the vice president for academic affairs together with the instructors of the premier or the flagship program of the institution will be utilized as the respondents of this study. Data collection and sampling is an important aspect of any type of research study. Inaccurate data collection can impact the results of a study and ultimately lead to invalid results. A purposive sampling technique will be utilized to depict the purpose of this study. According to Cormack (2000) suggests that qualitative researchers use a small selective sample, because of the in-depth nature of the study and the analysis of data required. The HEI’s administrators as well as the instructor are purposively chosen to provide vital information that will shed light to the foregoing study. An interview will be utilized as the primary data collection technique. Interviewing is widely used in qualitative research. Compared with observation, it is more economical in time. Interviewing is trying to understand what people think through their speech. (www.ssrc.hku.hk/er/qr0204.doc) Prior to gaining consent from participants, letters requesting permission to carry out the study will be sent to the necessary institution. If all permission requests are granted, a letter of invitation will be distributed to all the HEI administrators and instructors of the premier program of the HEI’s inviting them to participate in the study. The researcher will use open-ended interviews as it allows participants to discuss their opinions, views and experiences fully in detail where as perhaps a interview with closed ended questions may inhibit them to express their full opinions and feelings. With the use of semi-structured interviews the researcher will have prepared a topic guide or a certain amount of questions to be covered with each participant (Polit and Beck (2008). A face to face interview allows the researcher to observe any non-verbal communication but also allows both the interviewer and participant to seek any clarification necessary. The interviews will be audio-taped with permission from the participant to ascertain an accurate account of the interview which can be replayed for analytic purposes and anonymity will be assured during the course of the recording. A qualitative research interview seeks to cover both a factual and a meaning level, though it is usually more difficult to interview on a meaning level. (Kvale, 1996). Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant’s experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires (McNamara, 1999). A general interview guide approach will be used in this study. This guide approach is intended to ensure that the same general areas of information are collected from each interviewee; this provides more focus than the conversational approach, but still allows a degree of freedom and adaptability in getting the information from the interviewee Participants’ will be reminded of their right to withdraw from the study or terminate the interview at any time before commencing the session. The researcher also vows to ensure the participants anonymity and privacy during the conduct of interview. The purpose of data analysis is to organize, provide structure to, and elicit meaning from research data (Polit and beck 2008). Data analysis will be ongoing in conjunction with data collection as Polit and Hunglar (1999) state as interviews are conducted, gathered data is synthesized, interpreted and communicated to give meaning to it. According to Burns and Grove (1999) qualitative data analysis occurs in three phases: description, analysis and interpretation. The researcher will transcribe the interviews verbatim and analysis of the transcripts will be carried out by the researcher while utilizing Giorgis quality data analyses.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Media studies coursework for John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” Essay

We are doing a study of the opening sequence on the novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men†, and the subsequent two films (1995 version, and the 1989 version) on the Novel. The author of the novel is John Ernst Steinbeck, who shares the exact same name as his father. His father was an observer of nature and the natural world, and taught the young Steinbeck to respect and to be a part of nature. This love of nature from his father is incorporated in Steinbeck’s opening sequence of the book, where he describes in great detail the opening beside the Salinas River, this causes a calm and tranquil feeling for the reader and draw him straight into the book. Steinbeck was born and raised in Salinas in California and bases his book around both that area and in the time he was writing it, which was during the American depression in the 1930’s. The opening sequence of the book is set a few miles south of Soldad, in the Salinas river. The Salinas river is a peace full and tranquil place with lots of vegetation and wildlife and gives a very slow and calm start to the book. Steinbeck indicates that it is a spring evening of a hot day, and judging by the two men’s clothes it is sometime in the early 1900’s but he does not indicate exactly what period in the early 1900’s they are in. We can tell they are in this period from the second paragraph when he mentions that there are â€Å"boys coming down from the ranches†. From this and the clothes they are wearing we can also tell that the two men (George and Lennie) are working class and are most likely looking for a job on the ranch near by. We can tell they are working class because before the 1940’s only poor people amd workers would wear that type of clothes, â€Å"denim trousers and denim coat†. This is because they are easy to work in, are not very hot clothes to wear, and also are very durable so they are ideal for workers. The upper class would never wear this type of clothing exactly because the workers wear it and it is not descent clothing for a respectable gentleman to be wearing. The mood set in the book is very tranquil and quiet with great detail paid on the countryside and the animals in it. This is to try and give the reader an exact picture of the scene. Some examples of this are; â€Å"the water is lined with trees-willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool†. Another example of this is â€Å"Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand-banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little grey, sculpture stones.† In the first paragraph Steinbeck describes the noises and the imprints that have been left in the opening from the animals over many years, â€Å"On the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering noise as he runs through them†. And with â€Å"the damp flats are covered with the night tracks of ‘coons, and with the spread pads of dogs from the ranches, and with the split-wedged tracks of deer that come to drink in the dark â€Å". The second paragraph describes how the pool is a popular place for many people and the path has been worn down by human use: â€Å"path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranch to swim in the deep pool†. The path is also popular with Tramps who want to â€Å"jungle-up near water†. The Characters involved in the opening sequence are called Lennie and George. Lennie seems to be rather dumb and not very observant by the fact that wen his partner (George) stopped right in front of him Lennie carried on walking and â€Å"nearly ran him over†. Lennie does not think of his own safety and needs George to guide him so he can say out of trouble and in good health. He proves this by drinking out of the filthy water from the pool witch is described as being green, witch shows it is not running water. He drank â€Å"with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse†. Lennie listens to George obediently like a little child, and follows his every command and movement. He again shows his child like behaviour and naivety when he moves his fingers in the water and makes little rings, he immediately shares his excitement with George as he wants him to look, because he is proud of what he has done; â€Å"look George look what I done† he calls to him. We also have the picture of Lennie not being very bright from his physical appearance and the way that he walks. Lennie is described to have a â€Å"shapeless face† witch show lack of emotions and thought witch in turn is linked his lack of intelligence. The way it he walks also show either tiredness or again lack of intelligence â€Å"dragging his feet a little† and the way his arms move like pendulums. Steinbeck relates how he walks he walks to a bear meaning, this because he is saying he is big and strong, or because he has very little intelligence and does not think at all or he might be relating the bear to both his strength and his intelligence. George on the other hand is more intelligent than Lennie and seems to be the leader out of the two them. We get the idea that George is the leader by the fact that they are walking in single file and George is leading, this also gives us at first glance the impression that they might not be friends because usually friends walk next to each other not behind one another. We see a bit later on that this is not true and that George was probably just looking out for Lennie from the fact that he tries to stop Lennie drinking from the dirty pool â€Å"‘Lennie!’ he said sharply. ‘Lennie for God’s sakes don’t drink so much† this shows that he cares for him and doesn’t want Lennie to get sick. George’s appearance is more defined than Lennie’s with â€Å"small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin bony nose.† He is also described as being quick, this could probably means that he is more intelligent but it could also mean that his movement is quick. The genre of the novel is a real life drama. I have come to this conclusion because all the facts in opening sequence are all possible in real life, all the scenery is realistic the animals and the people are all realistic. There are only a few clues to what the story will be like. The clues that we have are that the clearing that George and Lennie are in is near to a ranch because it says in the book that boys come down from it to swim in the pool. We also think that George and Lennie are workers from the cloths they are wearing, so it is perfectly feasible that they are two travelling men looking for work on a nearby ranch. If this is true it would also account for the theme of the book. The 1995 film of â€Å"Of Mice and Men† opens with white credits on a black background and slow starting music. The music repeats itself over and over in a pattern while increasing in volume, this gives the effect that something dramatic or scary is going to happen and this makes the reader feel anticipation of what is going to happen next. After a while the music dies down and gives way to the sound effects of a train moving. The background also changes from totally black to black with white strips of light shining through, this gives the effect of a carriage door on a train. We are now sure that this scene is set on a moving train, but we still have no indication of where it is going or where it has come from. So far there is only a slight indication of the period of time we are in at this point of the film. This is the train because it is a steam train witch indicate to us that this is most likely before the 1970’s and after the 1880’s because this is around a bout the time that steam trains were used. The first glimpse we get of any of the character is when the camera slowly fades into a close-up shot of George lit only from the tiny beams of light coming from the slits in the carriage door. George is not moving at all and his face seems contorted and morose, showing us that he is in deep thought about something bad that has happened in the past, we can also assume now that he is on the train because he is running away from whatever has happened. The next scene strikes you very strongly because it is set in the middle of the day in a lush field witch looks like America. Running towards the camera there is a woman in a bright red dress with tears running down her eyes and obvious signs of distress on her face, her dress has also been ripped as though she has been attacked. This scene has been shot at a slower frame rate to indicate that it is actually George reliving previous events that have happened. The girl running towards the camera showing that she is running away from something, and towards safety. As the Woman runs closer to the camera the shot pans out across the field showing some men working in a field near by. As the women runs towards the men she starts waving and pointing to the direction she has just come from, The men drop their tools and run towards her. All this indicates that something very serious has happened to the Girl. The Men workings in the field have no machinery witch is also an indication of the pe riod we are in. There are three main atmospheres established in the opening sequence of this film these (in order of happening) are; anxiety, fear, and peacefulness. The anxiety is felt at the beginning when you hear the music getting louder and louder and the white on black background, and when you see George for the first time. The first time you feel fear is when you see the girl running through the field towards the workers with the tears running down her face and the rips in her dress. Then there is a small moment of heightened suspense when we see the two friends George and Lennie running away. We feel this way because the music has suddenly stopped and there is only the slight sound of their feet hitting the ground as they run. We go back to the emotion of utter fear and anxiety as we fear for the two men’s lives as they are running away from huge packs of dogs and a posy of men on horse back with guns. Suddenly everything goes quiet as George and Lennie hide in an irrigation ditch while they wait for the chasing posy to pass by. This jump for the loud roaring of feet, horse shoes, and loud barking from the dogs to the quiet gives a feeling of fear and anxiety but it also gives a sense of peace, as you can hear the wind rustling in the wind, the grasshoppers croaking in the distance, and the shallow breathing of the men in the water. The sub characters in the video are workers on a ranch we can tell this from the clothes they are wearing and the fact that they are working on the field when we see them. We can also assume that the main characters George and Lennie are also workers because they were wearing the same clothes as the workers. George seems to be the leader out of the two as he keeps giving instructions to Lennie as they are running away from the workers such as â€Å"keep moving† and â€Å"get down†. He also says it in a reasonably friendly tone showing that he is looking after both himself and Lennie. He doesn’t not sound like he is just trying to save himself and he is stuck with Lennie. Lennie on the other hand doesn’t seem to be that worried because he doesn’t realise in what danger they are in. This is shown when Lennie stops running at one point and comments on the dogs that are chasing him. Lennie does not seem that clever either mainly because he doesn’ t realise what danger he is in, he also seems to be dragging his feet and his speech seems impaired. The clues we have to the story line of the film are the men working on the field, the clothes the men are wearing and their accents, and also the chase seen when George and Lennie are being chased. The story could be about two working men trying to find work while being chased by the law because of some crime they committed and that is why they were running away. This will also be the theme of the film if it is true. The genre of the film so far looks like a western real life drama because of the accents of the men, the time in which this is set in and the fact that everything that has happened could happen in real life in that era. The 1989 video at first glance just looks like another low budget spin of a great book and actually seems like it holds no information at first glance. But if you look at it again you see it does actually hold a lot of information just like the other film did even though the budget was obviously not as big and it was shot 6 years earlier. There is though a large area of the end of the sequence of this video, which is actually totally made up, this includes adding Aunt Clara to the story which in actual fact has died many years ago in the book and in the other film. I feel adding this character holds no relevance to the book and there is no meaning to add her. The 1995 video on the other hand even though the director had rearranged the order in which the scenes appear he did not add any other characters to the story line. By the clothes George and Lennie, what appears to be the sheriff, and Aunt Clara are wearing, and also the style of housing you can tell they are in America in the early 1900’s. There is also Gospel music playing in the background when George and Lennie enter Aunt Clara’s house and there is also a gramophone in the room near the doorway. The clues given as to what the story will be like is George and Lennie running away from the law, George helping Lennie get away and keeping him quiet when they are in the field by coping his hand over Lennie’s mouth. Other clues to what the story will be like is Aunt Clara’s house and herself, George and Lennie could be running away from the law for some reason and going to live with Aunt Clara to lay low for a bit. Another main clue to the story is the music witch is very much like the music in western films with cowboys and Indians this and the contrasting clothes that the pursuers are wearing makes us think this is going to be a western film. From all this we cam also say that the theme of this video will be that of a western with two men on the run from the law. There is very little tension in this film and everything is taken very lightly and almost like a game. This is because the music is very happy with a jumpy rhythm and also a more cowboy style tune, the pursuers have no guns drawn and they seem to be in hurry to catch them and seem to give up very easily. George and Lennie also don’t seem to be in a great hurry to get away and there is no sense of fear in their face when we see the close-up shots, because of this it seems almost like they are playing a game in the fields with a couple of friends, like little kids do. The Genre of this video seems to be a real life western drama. I have come to this conclusion because of everything that has happened could happen in real life and because the pursuers seem to be wearing western type clothes and because of the very strong western music. This time both Lennie and George do no seem that bright both from their appearance and from the way they acted and behaved. Both of them look very scruffy instead of just Lennie and they both have this very deep western accent that is associated with intellectually challenged people. George even though his appearance and his voice is the definite leader out of the two, we are shown this when he tells Lennie what to do and when he cups his hand over Lennie’s mouth to keep him quiet. Another sign that George is the leader is that when they are in Aunt Clara’s house Lennie repeats every word they say. In resent years we have seen the decline of book reading because there has been a vast increase in the standard of T.V quality. The person being entertained does not have to think any more, to picture the scene in his head and so doesn’t have to concentrate so hard. This is why many people just watch T.V these days instead of reading a book. They find it more relaxing, they are almost sleeping there mind and body are asleep this is also why you get addicted to the T.V because your body finds another way to replenish it energy without sleeping. T.V lowers your imagination though, and your concentration span because your brain doesn’t think while watching T.V but while it is reading a book it is constantly thinking and imagining possibilities of what the scene will look like and the characters. I honestly prefer after a had days work to sit in front of the television and just relax a bit. But if I am just bored and I want some entertainment I will open my book and read for couple of hours. My preferred sequence is that of the books because it gives you an exact idea of the scenery and the people while also giving you room to imagine for yourself what they look like. I also enjoyed a lot the 1995 version because it brings a lot of tension and anxiety into the film witch is the opposite to what you feel in the book. This tension and anxiety raises your adrenaline and gives you a enjoyable and on the edge of you seat experience.